Michael Buerk. Is obesity a disease?

It’s a very simple equation..... if you put in more calories than you use, you eventually will become fat! No excuses, no “it’s my glands”, no , “all my family are fat”.... it won’t wash ..... obesity is self abuse.... and when you inflict it on your children it’s tantamount to child abuse!

Maybe your slim wife could cook and be more likely to plate up smaller portions, that said, it's probably why you do the cooking...cook's perks and all that...eh? ??

People need an excuse will always find one...for anything.
Those who really want to change will do all they can and know they did their best, taking into account their limitations but they won't moan and carry on piling on the pounds just because it's the easier option.
They are two different types.

All this talk of food reminds me, it's time to start to prepare dinner to feed my slim wife and me, her obese husband.

Musicgirl I too have lipoedema which really kicked into action with the menopause. It's now progressed into lymphedema and I also have osteoarthritis. I can't exercise much but I've been eating low carb which helps.
However I still look dreadfully obese from the waist downwards and on my arms. I genuinely can do nothing about it.
However I have only been in hospital for childbirth and a nosebleed so Michael Buerk (well named!) has totally disgusted me with this article.
I don't drink, smoke or drive so very little that I do encroaches on anyone else's welfare.
Lot of nasty judgemental people about today on social media all brought out by this stupid man

I suppose there can be medical reasons for it in some cases.But a lot of people just overeat and don't mind being overweight.It annoys me though when they claim benefits because they're" disabled " .And why do overweight women have to wear leggings and scimpy vest tops,not a good look.

Well Nannytopsy
Your criticism just shows that you didn't read my comment properly.
I clearly say that my weight for my height should be 10st 4lbs, as per the app which uses charts by Health England to show what healthy weight a female of my age and height should be.
I also say that my actual weight is 11st 2lbs, 12lbs more than the recommended weight and that means I am overweight.
I do not disagree with those figures but everyone's fat, bone and muscle make-upgrade different, thus, I may look heavier than someone who weighs more or I could weigh less than someone who looks skinnier.
No two people are the same in that respect.
Most people would think that women who weigh 11st must be fat but it doesn't work like that.
I'm 11st 2lbs and not fat but certainly I weigh more than charts and apps decide are appropriate weight/height/age ratios.
I don't diet and don't want to lose weight.
You just chose not to remember what I wrote before posting your response.

Well said Musicbird

There are many autoimmune diseases that can lead to weight gain. As others have mentioned, an underactive thyroid is one of them and for most of us the weight gain that generally goes with it is very difficult to lose. Hereditary disposition is certainly a part and wouldn't it be lovely if calories in/calories out actually worked. In addition to an underactive thyroid l also have a hereditary condition called lipoedema, one where a diagnosis is very difficult to get even though the condition has been recognised for over seventy years, hmm... wonder if this is because it is almost exclusively a women's disease. It generally starts at puberty with thunder thighs and can progress to the calves leaving the ankles normal. Each hormonal change can make it worse. Shelves on the hips then the arms become affected. The skin feels cold to the touch and large bruises appear out of nowhere. Underneath the affected skin it feels like there are beads. Diet and exercise have absolutely no effect on these areas; the only treatment is compression garments or, if one can ever afford it, specialised liposuction. It can cause a lot of pain and problems with mobility for many ladies. Of course, ridding oneself of any non-lipoedema fat can help your health in general and l have done this leaving me two dress sizes smaller at the top than the bottom. I am giving my thoughts as some people, usually the lucky ones who, seemingly like Michael Buerk have never had a weight problem in their lives, appear to think that those of us who struggle with this issue are somehow weak-willed lesser individuals who are undeserving of sympathy or help because we have brought all our problems on ourselves. Strange how those who participate in dangerous sports and injure themselves are not treated in this way.

Theoddbird, why not try sympathetic rather than annoyed.?

"Be healthy, eat well, don't stress and be positive. That's a good way to live."

It is, Gabriella. And I'm sure people with disabilities think the same. However life is somewhat of a lottery and doing what you suggest just isn't going to work for everyone.

You can't force someone with cancer, kidney disease, RA, PR, birth deformities, the list is endless to 'be healthy' And many conditions are through no fault of the people who have ended up stuck with them.

We try to eat well but not everyone can/wants to for a variety of reasons.

Don't stress? Impossible. You can't just tell yourself not to stress when you're knee deep in debt, nappies and unsure whether you've got enough to pay the gas bill. And stress isn't just a poverty illness either. We all stress to a degree. Some more than others.

I am a very positive person . And I'm positive that while we'd all love to be fit and healthy and stress free it just isn't real life.

I do get a bit annoyed when I see overweight people with overweight children... They are passing their bad habits onto the next generation...

If it was as simply as eat a bit less and exercise, very few people would be fat in a society

Yet society as a whole is getting fatter in line with a change in how we live and eat....

The "mediterranian diet" was hailed as one of the healthiest with lowest cardiovascular risk, yet in areas where it originated, obesity has shot up with the adoption of more "western" foods and lifestyles!

Well lucky old you Gabriella! What a shame it isn’t possible for you thin people to just try being overweight.

Are we talking about a stereotypical senior, 'dumpy' person? The round kind with a propensity for ice cream and double helpings of dessert? The kind who doesn't exercise as much as she/he should? If that's who we're talking about, I tend to agree.....a hefty dose of self control and discipline wouldn't be a bad thing .. I know, because I am one of the walking guilty!

Having said that, I do think that certain types of obesity are a disease and in many cases, hereditary. I'm talking about the ones who are so large, they can't find clothes in regular or even plus size stores. The ones who become bedridden because they can't fit through their own front door. People who actually eat less than most of us, yet must resort to having their stomachs stapled in order to lose weight.

Many are unemployed because they can't get hired due to weight bias. Others can't work due to their own physical limitations They are often judged or ridiculed in stores, parking lots and other public places.

The reality is that they suffer from a metabolic illness through no fault of their own. If you asked them about the daily struggles of the morbidly obese, you would soon realize than instead of casting blame or condemnation, what they really need from the rest of us is more kindness and support.

Oops! Forgot chart.

Here's a look at my daily weight fluctuations, eating roughly the same kind of foods in the same amounts and having the same exercise routine. I have b'fast about 10-11am and evening meal before 6.30pm. Only walnuts and almonds mid morning and afternoon. Plenty of water. Weights were recorded after waking, between 6-7am.
Green line show what the app decides I should be losing and orange line shows my trajectory.
I'm not trying to lose weight, just track my weight but the graph just shows how much it alters even when you do broadly the same stuff every day.
Incidentally, it's in pounds and the app decided that my weight should be 144lbs, 10st 4lbs for my height of 5-6.5.
I actually weigh 11st 2lbs and my adult weight for 40 odd years was 11-7
I would look skeletal being under 11st.
I'm happy with my build as it's mostly muscle due to exercise.
Be healthy, eat well, don't stress and be positive. That's a good way to live.

I’m with Pinkquartz. There are many contributing factors in obesity. Genetics is a big one, medications another and there are others, including eating too much. If it was as simply as eat a bit less and exercise, very few people would be fat in a society where it’s the last legitimate prejudice!

What an awful thread, full of opinionated bigots. Many causes for obesity, including poverty! I have been on a diet for most of my life, rarely eat anything containing sugar and minimal carbs yet still obese. To all of you - walk a mile in my shoes!

Hi SueDonim, I'll just post a link you might find interesting. It goes on for an hour but the first 10 minutes are very informative.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ziACR_lvNI

IMV there are some, a few in the great scheme of things, who have medical reasons for their weight gain.
The rest have a long-standing habit eating foods which are less nutritious and healthy and overeating.
Snacking at all times of the day, eating while watching tv or gaming, drinking lots of beer and eschewing exercise.
It has little to do with metabolism and more to do with making unhealthy choices and being lazy.
If you want to lose weight you have to have willpower and I see no reason to excuse overweight and obese people, who do nothing to change their habits but expect the NHS and social services to foot the bill for ops and special equipment in their homes.

Your endocrinologist sounds rather rude and patronising then!

If you ever get another saying that do point out that the hypo would have killed them due to no thyroid replacement hormone and therefore myxoedema and certain death would have followed.

I'm pleased to say that endos are far more with it these days. They are aware that is is sometimes not as simple as 'eat less, move more.'

I am struggling to lose weight and have hypothyroidism. I also take another medication which is well known to lead to putting on weight. Thanks to this thread, I've learnt something and I think I'll pay the doctor a visit to see what they say.

One thing I don't think has been mentioned is the gut biome, the bacteria we all have in our intestines. There's been some interesting research about that.

No we'd look fit and healthy if transported into a bunch of kids today. My two sons are both mesomorphs and at 30 and 38 are slim and muscular but dwarf some of their friends in both height and build. Some young men today are skinny beyond belief and I'm so glad my sons aren't like that, you see their skinny little legs in skin tight jeans and I was bigger than that as a 10 year old and my youngest son as a 12 year old had bigger feet than his dad taking an adult size 12 then again his dad is 6'6" so never likely to produce a midget. We ain't all built the same.

minnie and I will say it again, that analogy was used by an Endocrinologist to me about 15 years ago. The emphasis should not be on the camp but the fact that not eating means you lose weight. Please don't do the hung up on the holocaust thing, it is nothing to do with that. Can you give me a better well known example of a group of people who starved to death?

So, whether you are depressed, have a 'condition', cannot exercise or whatever, you will lose weight if you eat less and better. It really is that simple. You cannot get a quart into a pint pot, it does not expand like your body.